All posts for the month May, 2013

I’ve got a AM/FM/Tape/CD boom box (Sony CFD-22) that I got in the early 1990’s. I used it in my office when it was purchased. Eventually it made it’s way into the garage and has been there since (at least 15 years). The garage has not been very hospitable to it over the years. It has finally started to give up with the CD failing, fast forward no longer working, volume either on or off, broken antenna, and only one speaker fully functioning.

I’ve wanted to replace it with a new shelf system with an iPod interface, but I don’t want to spend two or three hundred dollars that most of the better ones demand. It occurred to me I have all the components of a good audio system in boxes. Car audio equipment pulled from systems I built in previous cars. Hrmm! Car audio components are built to handle the extremes of an automotive environment. Good candidates for the harsh garage environment. So, I started thinking about how I can utilize it in the garage.

The first obvious problem is how to power it from house power (110v) since it’s all designed to run off 12v. To this I looked into power inverters. Wow! The ones that can can carry a amperage load of greater than 3 amps start getting very expensive very quickly. I want to use an Alpine V-Drive high power unit which will pull a maximum of 20 amps, but likely between 5 and 10 on average. This price per amp limitation almost stopped this project dead in its tracks.

Then one day while looking at the power options again, I stumbled on the use of PC power supplies to power 12v electronics. A little more research showed car audio equipment being run off a PC ATX power supply unit (PSU). PSU’s supply 12v, 5v, and 3.3v on different rails. They are also reasonably priced. You can’t use just any PSU. You need one that can push enough amperage on the 12v rail. Some have multiple rails, others just one. For an explanation of PSU rails, see this ATX PSU wiki.

PC PSU’s come in many flavors from very cheap, low-wattage, to very expensive, high wattage units and everything in between, some with single rails, and some with dual. The key is finding one that can drive the amperage load needed without taxing the voltage rail or the PSU itself. The ATX 2.3 specification ditches the 20amp (240 VA) limit on a single rail which can be useful if you need to drive high power equipment. Another consideration is the units ability to cool itself without sounding like a jet plane because PC PSU’s can be very noisy, especially at the lower end of the cost spectrum.

So you’ve got power, now what? You need an enclosure of some sort to mount everything in. I’ve seen everything from plastic tool boxes to drink coolers, and I bet they sound like garbage in person. Speakers need a good solid mounting point. Ideally the speakers should be isolated from each other in separate compartments, so you’re looking at a three chambered box with more substance than plastic.

You’ll also need various other items to make it fully operational, such as intake vent(s) for cooling (the PSU draws air internally and pushes it out the back), auxiliary input block-off plates and adapters, and an antenna to name a few. If you build a box you’ll also need wood, nails, wood glue, and something for the finish like box carpet or paint. You could add handles and/or rubber feet as well.

So now your thinking it’s starting to sound expensive and why not just buy a shelf system and call it a day? Because I can, and it will be a fun project.

Below is a list of items pulled out of my inventory for use. I’ve priced out the remaining items I need and it should still save money over a store bought shelf system and will most likely sound a whole lot better.

Alpine CDA-7893 head unit

Alpine KCA-121B Ai-Net RCA auxiliary input

Monster iPod to RCA audio cable

JBL GTO-605c 6.5″/1″ component speakers

Fiberfill

I created a CAD conceptual drawing of my vision. I’m going to use spray on truck bed liner to finish it. That finish is not represented in my conceptualization.

In the next few posts I’ll document the build process and final product. Stay tuned (no pun intended). 🙂

When you launch the Fitbit iOS app it syncs the linked device immediately. It does this each time you open the app as well. To do this it activates a Bluetooth connection to the device, does a sync, then deactivates the Bluetooth connection. You will see the Bluetooth status indicator come on and go off. The main screen displays the sync progress at the top under your configured name.

Navigation is simple. A menu bar at the bottom to select the section you want access to, and a bar at the top showing the day you are working with, and left and right buttons to change days.

Dashboard

Once open the first section displayed is the iOS version of the Dashboard. It has statistics for each tracker (calories burned, steps, distance, floors climbed, weight, food, sleep and water).

Activities

Next is the Activity section. This provides an overview of your logged activities and step summary. You can also enter new activities here, which is very simple to do.

Weight

Then comes the weight section. Here you can see and enter your daily weight measurements. If you have a smart scale it should already be there. This also has a nice graph of your weight fluctuation so you can get a visual on how you are doing. Swiping left and right on the graph lets you change it between weight, fat %, and body mass index.

More

Since there is limited width on the iPhone screen you select everything else through the last menu tab which is “More”.

Food

Food is up first. Here you can see and enter what you eat. It’s grouped by meal. Each item shows the quantity and calorie count. Each meal group shows the total calories for that meal. The top of this section shows the total calories consumed for the day.

Water

Water is next on the list. Here you view and enter water consumed. Do it each time you drink some, or one bulk entry at the end of the day. When you’ve consumed enough the person icon will be all blue.

Sleep

Last but not least, sleep. Here you can view your last (and other days) sleep session summary and sleep pattern. It shows how long you were asleep, how many times you woke up and the overall pattern. I don’t know how much activity is required to qualify as awake, but it seems like it counts more times awake than I do.

When you go to bed you should slip the One into the wristband which you then wrap comfortably on your wrist. Then go to this section of the app, and add a log entry. You choose between adding a sleep log (where you enter the start and stop times manually) or beginning sleep now (which puts the app in a sleep timer state).

When you wake up, if you told it to begin sleep, start the app and you just tap the “I’m Awake” button. This failed for me the first couple of times until I realized you need to let the device finish syncing before ending sleep. Since you can’t see the sync progress in this mode, just watch the Bluetooth icon and iOS activity spinner at the top of the screen. When those stop, the device is done syncing and you can safely end sleep mode which will then create your sleep log.

The wristband hasn’t bothered me one bit. It is a very soft material and if you don’t wrap it too tight you don’t even know its there.

Settings and Devices

The More section is also where you access app Settings and Devices. I won’t bore you with Settings. Devices is where you setup the Bluetooth pairing with your tracker. You can also see the devices current battery status.

Conclusion

So far I’m very pleased with the One and the apps (web and iOS) that Fitbit has provided. My only, minor, disappointment falls with the iOS app in that you can’t access all the available trackers, like Blood Pressure, Journal, Heart-rate, and Glucose. Overall though, a well put together package for fitness management.

Like this:

Fitbit has done an excellent job and designed a well thought out and easy to use web interface for accessing your account.

Login

First you need to login. Online accounts are free if you want to try it out before investing in a tracking device like the Zip or the One. If you’re wondering what the difference is, the Zip can’t track sleep. You can register for an account through Fitbit or use your Facebook or Google accounts for authentication. I recommend against the latter for a number of reasons.

Dashboard

Once logged in, you get your Dashboard. This gives you an overview of your stats for the day.

Scrolling down in Day view you can see your Food Plan, Body and Sleep information. And yes I’m a tad out of shape (working on it) and didn’t get much sleep the night before I took the screenshots. The metrics here are not completely accurate as I was not fully tracking food.

You can switch the view to week or month views which give some more interesting statistics.

Logging

Click the Log section and you can see everything that can be tracked. Food, Activities, Weight, Sleep, Heart-rate, Blood Pressure, Glucose, and a Journal. The journal can be used to track mood and has a free form note field for anything you want to note. Some of the parts have more than one view, indicated by dots at the bottom of the section. Clicking the left or right arrows switches them out. More good details are in these sections so look through them!

Scrolling down through the Food section allows you to enter meals and see statistics about what you have consumed. And look at that, the French Dip I ate totally blew my sodium intake for the day.

One section that many will be interested in is the Blood Pressure section. I have a Withings cuff which syncs to my Withings account via my iPhone. Fitbit doesn’t have a sync for this like they do with weight. There is a 3rd party web site which says it will sync this as well as other sources (http://www.syncservices.com), but I have not looked into it in detail.

The Glucose section will be of interest to diabetics.

Wrap Up

The gear icon in the upper right will show the last sync time, battery level, allow access to account settings and provides the logout function.

Like this:

Overview

I recently started using a FitbitOne device to track daily activity, and sleep patterns. Iwas thinking about the BodyMedia tracker but I wasn’t to keen on the armband. The One is very small and can be clipped to your waist or some other locations.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it and I was a little skeptical about its accuracy. Through REI I was able to pick one up for $46 after a coupon and dividend credit, so I figured why not. Not bad for a $100 item.

Unlike most pedometers the One has an altimeter as well as an accelerometer so it can track stairs as well as steps. It computes distance traveled and calories burned. It has a clock as well and timestamps what it logs which helps Fitbit calculate calorie burn when you enter activities like bike riding or exercise at specific times of the day.

Having tracked my activity and food consumption in the past I am fairly familiar with the process. Understanding how many calories you take in and how many you burn is key to losing weight and staying fit. What I learned before basically boiled down to portion control and limiting snacking balanced with daily exercise. I want the One to aid in tracking my activity.

I’ve often wondered how well I’m sleeping, especially when I wake up tired after having a good 8 hours of rest – which isn’t all the time. So I’m also looking to the One to help understand “how” I sleep.

Fitbit also provides great statistics for your metrics. Daily, weekly, monthly, total, average, you name it. The also have a badge program where you can earn badges fir your activity achievements. You can also compete with friends. These may seem silly but they do create some motivation.

Initial Impressions

After just 1 week I’m impressed with what Fitbit has put together. Coupling the One device with the iOS app and/or web is extremely easy. Both the iOS application, which isn’t designed for the iPad, and the web site are beautifully designed.

Wearing the One has not interfered with any activity so far. In fact, I forget that I have it on. This could be a problem if you toss your clothes in the washer with it still clipped on. The only time I can’t track activity is in the shower since it is not waterproof. It also seems to be pretty accurate, although I’ve noticed it mis-count flights of stairs. The latter could be my fault as I sometimes take stairs two at a time.

The battery life has been excellent as well. I charged it when I got it and once after about 4 days later even though it wasn’t fully drained. Fitbit claims 5 to 7 day battery life, but it looks like it will go slightly longer. How often you activate its display probably has a role in longevity.

After activating a Fitbit web account I was happy to see you can easily track a few other things like weight, blood pressure and glucose. I was surprised to see they also have the ability to sync weight from a Withings scale via your Withings web account. This appears to lag one day behind though. But it greatly simplifies tracking weight. Step on the scale and your done. Fitbit also sells the Aria smart scale which is very similar to the Withings smart scale. Both take weight, body fat, and BMI measurements.